Over a hundred years ago a
university student found himself seated on a train
by the side of a person who seemed to be a
well-to-do peasant. He was praying the Rosary and
moving the beads through his fingers.

“Sir, do you still
believe in such outdated things,” asked the student
of the old man?

“Yes I do. Do you
not?” asked the man.

The student burst into laughter
and said, “I do not believe in such silly things.
Take my advice, throw the Rosary out the window and
learn what science has to say about it.”

“Science? I do not
understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it
to me,” the man said humbly with some tears in his
eyes.

When he saw that the man was
deeply moved, to avoid further hurting the man’s
feelings, he said, “Please give me your address and
I will send you some literature to help you on this
matter.”

The man fumbled in the inside
of his coat and gave the boy his visiting card. On
glancing at the card, the student bowed his head in
shame and became silent. On the card he read:
LOUIS PASTEUR, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, PARIS.

Something to think about at
this season of reflection.

Rabbi Mendel L. Abrams was born in the wild, snow-covered north country of Minnesota a number of decades ago. He found early in life that the snow and cold of Minneapolis were not for him. Ergo, he migrated after receiving his undergraduate degree to the "civilized" canyons of Manhattan to complete his education. While residing in Gotham, he met and married Lila.

Upon ordination, the U.S. Army "requested" his presence, and he spent the next two years saluting and memorizing Army regulations. Following his separation from service, he became the rabbi at Am Echod in Waukegan, Illinois, where his most famous congregant was comedian Jack Benny. After four and a half years on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Abrams family (now numbering 5) moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where he spent two and a half years as Rabbi of Anshe Emet Congregation, before alighting finally here at Beth Torah in 1971.

The
Rabbi's Resume details his credentials. Rabbi Abrams treats patients both through the Washington Pastoral Counseling Service and through private consultation.